In the United States, vision tests are not routinely provided to children under the age of 6, with only 14% of children under the age of 6 having had a vision exam. In addition, over 500 million people worldwide suffer from refractive error-related illness, with more than 90% of these people being in developing countries. Such conditions are likely to worsen over time if not identified and corrected early.
Several factors may prohibit both early detection and detection in general. One is communication, as may be the case with a small child who cannot clearly indicate that he/she is experiencing an ailment or in a developing country in which a patient may not be able to communicate effectively with a care provider. Another factor is cost, which may be particularly limiting in developing countries as equipment for detecting refractive errors can be expensive and well-trained personnel for operating the equipment and analyzing the results may be inaccessible or have limited availability.